Hold on to your hats folks, as a rumor has surfaced that the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will have micro-transactions, letting players pay real money to skip over features of the game they don't feel like participating in.
While many fans have expressed dismay and incredulity at the thought of paying money to play the game for you, this isn't just some random statement from an unknown source, there is actually some evidence to suggest this is a reality. For starters, on the Italian Playstation Store, the game description contains the phrase: "Acquisti in-game opzionali," which translates to "optional in-game purchases."
This was backed up by a mention that IGN spotted in a recent demo of the game. When attempting to speed up the development of Snake's in-game base, the reviewer was told that those features were not allowed in offline mode, suggesting an account system was necessary for it.
Which sounds an awful lot like the terrible energy mechanics of many smartphone games. If Konami really has been silly enough to include them in the new Metal Gear, it will likely have a big, negative impact on sales.
